"Unlock the Secret Weapon That'll Make Customers Beg to Work With You! (Hint: It's Not What You Think)"

Oh, so you want to be your own boss?
Well, did you know even if you are a big boss, there is someone who can kick you out of your seat in your organization?

Now, The only person who can kick you out of your seat is your customer.

So what do you do? You have to keep impressing your customers...

The traditional view of just the person who buys from you being your customer is gone. Everyone your business interacts with is a potential customer or path to a potential customer. Really, just think about it: if a government official visits your place and finds it well-kept, tidy, structured, well-lit, and well-organized, with your staff professional and well-behaved, they just can't stop thinking about your business. Now, when they meet a friend in the evening for coffee, they have to talk about you. Their friend feels like talking about you, and that's how good customer experience goes - it just doesn't stop.

But here's the kicker - customer experience isn't just a one-size-fits-all deal. It's contextual, as some smart folks at Harvard Business Review pointed out. What does that mean for you? It means you've got to put on your thinking cap and design every single interaction as if it's with a customer. Why? Because in this game, everyone's either buying from you or influencing someone else to buy from you. It's like six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but for your business!

So, let's get down to brass tacks. What are these customer touch points we're talking about? It's not just the obvious stuff like when someone buys your product. It's everything. I mean everything. That inquiry call? Touch point. Support query? Touch point. Supplier dropping by? You guessed it - touch point. Customer visit, government inspection, even that random cold call from someone trying to sell you something - they're all touch points in the grand customer journey.

Now, here's where it gets interesting. People these days? They're knowledge hounds. Always have been, really. The more they know about you, the safer they feel. And let me tell you a secret - people love feeling safe. It's like a warm, cozy blanket for their decision-making process. So, your job? Make them feel like they know you inside out. Be the business equivalent of that friend who always has the best stories at parties.

But it's not just about knowledge. It's about association too. We're all a bit like high schoolers at heart - we want to hang with the cool kids. So be the cool kid in your industry. Make people feel like they're part of an exclusive club just by working with you.

Here's the golden ticket: the easiest way to a customer's mind (and wallet) is to make them trust that it's safe to work with you. When they give you a shot, they're not just buying a product or service - they're buying peace of mind. They're saying, "I trust you not to let me down." That's powerful stuff, my friend.

So, how do we set all this up? It's simple, but not easy. You've got to design a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for every single interaction you might have. And I mean every single one. That inquiry call? Have an SOP for it. Government inspection? SOP it up. Random person calling to sell you pencils? You better believe there's an SOP for that.

It might sound like overkill, but trust me, it's not. This is how you create a consistently awesome experience. It's how you make sure that no matter who interacts with your business, they walk away thinking, "Wow, those folks really have their act together."

Remember, in this brave new world of business, everyone's a potential customer. That delivery guy who drops off your supplies? He might have a cousin looking for exactly what you're selling. That government inspector? Her book club might be full of your ideal customers. You never know where your next big break is coming from, so treat everyone like they're holding the keys to your success.

Because here's the truth - they are. Every single person who interacts with your business has the potential to make or break you. So make every interaction count. Make it safe, make it knowledgeable, make it memorable.

Do this right, and you won't just be your own boss. You'll be the boss everyone wants to work with. And in this game we call business, that's the real win.